Want to leave work early? Torch a filing cabinet

A Florida woman who started a fire in her office so she could get off work early has been jailed for nine months, the St Petersburg Timesreports.

Michelle Perrino, 40, of New Port Richey, executed her cunning plan on 12 May 2009, at Bayonet Point Oxygen. However, she subsequently blew it when she "mentioned the fire's origin - a filing cabinet - during an employee meeting".

This proved ill-advised, since employees hadn't been told where the fire started. Perrino's former boyfriend told investigators that the serial skiver admitted she'd previously "also tripped the main breaker for the office building so it would lose power and adjusted the phones so no calls could come in, all so she would be sent home from work early with pay".

Perrino pleaded guilty earlier this week to a charge of criminal mischief, and was jailed for nine months, to be followed by five years' probation. She was ordered to pay $4,800 damages and to have "no contact with Bayonet Point Oxygen or its employees". ®

Bunkoffnote

Those of you thinking of equally drastic measures to exit your workplaces early to catch the World Cup in the boozer will doubtless be grateful to Perrino for providing an excellent example of how not to cover your tracks.